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Injury and Death

Hit Points

[Rules text…]

Wounds

All characters possess a number of Wound Points for each part of their body. The Head, Legs, and Arms are all referred to as Limbs, and the Body possesses its own separate Wound pool as well. An attacker may target a specific Limb by taking a -4 penalty on their attack roll. An attack that is not specifically targeted affects the body (this includes damage-dealing effects without an attack roll involved, such as a Fireball). If a character reaches -1 or fewer Wound points on a limb or body they gain the Dying condition

Wounds may only be restored through specific means. Unlike Hitpoints, which are typically healed through all kinds of methods such as Cure spells, Wounds may only be restored in following ways:

  • Surgery: This is the way nonmagical folk handle their injuries. To perform surgery, you must roll a Heal check against a DC as shown in the table below, and use a Surgery Kit. Surgery takes 5 hours of work, though this takes 1 less hour for every 5 by which you exceed the Heal DC. Performing surgery successfully restores Wounds equal to 2x the creature's Hit Dice. Typically, surgery must be performed by another creature, but the injured creature may perform surgery on themselves by adding 10 to the Heal check DC.
Wound Heal DC
Head 30
Body 20
Legs 15
Arms 15
  • Magic: Cure Critical Wounds provides a one-off 2d8 restoration of the creatures wounds. This special use of the spell takes 1 hour to cast, and may only be used once per full recovery, meaning that until a creature's Wounds are fully restored, they may not benefit from this spell a second time during their recovery period.
  • Rest: Plain old rest is a way to naturally recover Wound damage. For every 8 hours which you rest in bed and do absolutely nothing else, you restore Wounds equal to your Hit Die.

Critically, all of these methods of restoring Wounds are compatible with one another. A creature resting may also receive surgical attention from another creature, and may likewise receive magical treatment as well, to expedite the recovery process.

Non-Lethal Damage

Non-Lethal damage works identically to normal damage against an opponent's Hit Points, until reaching their Wounds. When a creature has no Hit Points remaining, track Wound damage and Non-Lethal damage separately. The most Non-Lethal damage which a creature can endure in a given Wounds category is equal to their total Wounds in that category. For example, if your Body has 20 Wound Points, you can take up to 20 Non-Lethal damage in that area.

If a creature hits a tally of Non-Lethal damage in their Head or Body equal to their total Wounds in that area, they immediately go Unconscious. If they take such a tally of Wound damage to a limb, that limb becomes unusable until the creature's Non-Lethal damage in that limb is below their total Wounds in that limb.

Non-Lethal damage decreases hourly, at the same rate as a creature's Hit Points restore.

Resistance

Resistances come in a few forms that act to prevent damage from happening or having a full effect. Some of these forms of Resistance include: Damage Reduction, Invulnerability, Indestructible, Spell Resistance or Energy Resistance. If two seperate types of Resistant would apply to the same source of damage you do not reduce the damage twice and only apply the higher of the bonuses.

Damage Reduction

The most common Resistance is Damage Reduction (DR). Damage Reduction reduces all damage taken by the amount listed. Normally specific kinds of damage ignore Damage Reduction. Example: DR 10/Magic would mean any damage taken is reduced by 10 except for magical damage sources. This means a non-magic weapons would be reduced but a enchanted weapon would overcome the DR. Some special Damage Types or Abilities overcome DR innately, such as Force damage or the Smite ability.

Energy Resistance

Energy Resistance provices flat resistance to specific forms of elemental or aligned energy damage. Example: Fire Resistance 20, would reduce any Fire damage take by 20. (Technically, Resistance can be applied to any damage type but most often it is Energy Resistance. Physical Damage resistence it very rare.)

Invulnerability

Invulnerability (or Immunity) makes a character entirely immune to a specified damage type. While very rare there are some creatures that are entirely immune to some damage types. Example: Invulnerability Holy would prevent any damage from a Holy source. (It is often applied to creatures so innately tied to the energy)

Indestructible

Indestructible is the rarest form of Resistance due to how powerful it is. Often it is not innate to the creature or has some kind of “off switch”. A creature with Indestructible cannot be damaged outside of the listed damage type; no amount of damage can overcome Indestructible outside of the weakness. Example: Indestructible Cold, would prevent every time of damage aside from Cold damage type.

Spell Resistance

Spell Resistance (SR) is the extraordinary ability to avoid being affected by spells. Some spells can also grant spell resistance.

To affect a creature that has SR, a spellcaster must make a caster level check:

  • `1d20 + caster level`
  • The result must be equal to or greater than the target's Spell Resistance.

SR functions like an Armor Class against magical attacks. If the caster fails the check, the spell has no effect.

The creature does not need to take any action to use SR. It operates automatically, even if the creature is unaware of the threat.

What SR Affects
  • Only spells and spell-like abilities are subject to SR.
  • Extraordinary and supernatural abilities (e.g., enhancement bonuses on magic weapons) are not affected by SR.
  • Some spells explicitly bypass spell resistance — see below.

A creature can have some abilities that are subject to SR and others that are not.

Lowering Spell Resistance

A creature can voluntarily lower its SR as a Half Action (does not provoke an attack of opportunity). Once lowered, SR remains down until the creature’s next turn.

  • At the start of the next turn, SR automatically returns.
  • The creature can choose to keep it down, which is another Half Action.
Additional Notes
  • A creature’s SR does not interfere with its own spells, items, or abilities.
  • SR cannot be shared by touch or proximity.
  • Only rare creatures and specific magic items can grant SR to others.
  • Spell resistance does not stack — use the highest value.
When Spell Resistance Applies

Each spell has an entry that indicates whether SR applies.

In general, whether SR applies depends on what the spell does.

Grievous Wounds

Below are a list of all body parts that possess a Wound pool, their Wound total, and the effects from that part being damaged.

  • Head: The Head possesses Wound Points equal to your Constitution score.
    • When under 50% Wounds on Head, Initial: Blinded for one round, afterwards Impaired till healed.
    • If the Head reaches 0 Wounds, the character is Dying. If the Head equals a number of negative Wounds equal to or exceeding the character's Constitution score, the character dies gaining the Dead condition.
  • Arms: An Arm has Wound Points equal to your Constitution score.
    • Under 50% wounds on Arm, Initial: Drops any held item in that arm, -4 on any attacks made with just that arm, or -2 on any attacks using both arms till healed.
    • If the Arm reaches 0 or less Wounds, it ceases to function, and the character drops any items held in that Arm. If the Arm equals of a number of negative Wound Points equal to or exceeding the character's Constitution score, the Arm is severed off, or otherwise permanently unusable.
  • Legs: A Leg possesses Wound Points equal to your Constitution score.
    • Under 50% wounds on Leg, Initial: Immobilized for one round, afterwards Hindered till healed.
    • If the Leg reaches 0 or less Wounds, it ceases to function, halving the move speed of the creature (if bipedal). If the Leg reaches negative Wounds equal to or exceeding the character's Constitution score, the Leg is severed off, or otherwise permanently unusable. If both legs are 0 or less Wounds, the character may only crawl, at a static 5 ft. of movement per Half Action.
  • Body: The Body possesses Wounds equal to twice the character's Constitution score.
    • Under 50% wounds on Body, Initial: Stunned for one round, afterwards Fatigued till healed.
    • If the Body reaches 0 Wounds, the character is Dying. If the Body equals a number of negative Wounds equal to or exceeding the character's Constitution score,they gain the Dead condition

Rather then losing a limb when it reaches negative wounds, a character may instead gain a Permanent Injury to that location, or spend a Hero Point to prevent the limbs permanent loss. When either of these options are chosen the limb is restored to -1 wounds and the character loses the dying condition

Battle Damage

When a character enters negative wound damage from an attack or effect, they receive Battle Damage and Roll a d4. These are temporary modifiers that can be mitigated by aHealcheck and a Full Round Action. Each Battle Damage is caused by different methods of damage types from Energy to Slashing.

If the attack would reduce the wounds to more than half maximum negative then roll a d6 instead.

Energy Damage

1-2) Singed (DC 15): Character is Winded from pain of the burnt, charred or frozen skin

3-4) Deep Burns (DC 15): Character must make a Will Save of DC 15 or be Staggered as long as the have the Battle Damage from the deep tissue damage caused.

5) Flare Up (DC 20): The energy burst overwhelms the characters senses as their body fuels the very energy maiming them. Flip a coin, on Heads the Character is Deaf, on Tails the character is Blind

6) Beautiful Transcendence (None): The energy does not stop at only one limb, the Character must experience more. Roll another d6 to determine where the crackling energy goes next. 1 Left Arm, 2 Right Arm, 3 Body, 4 Left Leg, 5 Right Leg, 6 Head. That limb then takes 2d6 wounds of the same energy type… if this would result in Battle Damage it is automatically Beautiful Transcendence.

Bludgeoning Damage

1-2) Battered (DC 15): Character is Winded from the pain of the beating

3-4) Bell-ringing (DC 15): Character must make a Fort Save of DC 15 or be Stunned for 1d4 rounds, and then Staggered afterwards from the brutal slam.

5) Knocked Down (DC 20): Character is knocked Prone by the attack and is Fatigued from the immensity of the attack

6) Utterly Broken (DC 25): Sometimes it feel like death would of been a mercy instead of this beating… The Character must make a Will Save DC 20 or be Stunned and Exhausted. If succeeded the Character is still Exhausted from the sheer brutality of the attack

Piercing Damage

1-2) Stuck (DC 15): The Character is Hindered from the deep wound.

3-4) Oozing Puncture (DC 15): Character must make a Fort Save of DC 10 each round or lose 1d4 wounds from the limb.

5) Something is Wrong (DC 25): The wound is massively deep and the damage leaves the character doubting their survival. Each round flip a coin, on a heads nothing happens, on a Tails the character suffers 1d6 damage to any remaining HP or to a random limb.

6) Its Over Guys (DC 30): The wound is just too deep and now a slow death is likely. The character is Stunned and each round suffer 1d6 damage to the Limb until it is destroyed.

Slashing Damage

1-2) Deep Cut (DC 15): The Character is Winded from the pain of the nasty gash.

3-4) Muscles Severed (DC 15): Muscle damage makes every task more difficult, the character is Fatigued

5) Peeling Wounds (DC 20): Sometimes movement is the worst thing you can do for an injury… Each time the character takes any kind of action that results in movement or combat, flip a coin, if Heads nothing happens, if Tails the limb takes 2d6 damage.

6) By a Thread (DC 30): As long as you do nothing you'll be fine… If the Character takes any actions that result in movement or combat, the limb is instantly destroyed

Permanent Injuries

When a character receives a permanent injury there is no way to heal it outside of spending magical or mundane resources and time. This requires aHealCheck DC 25 and a week of effort (Only an hour each day). However keep track of all Permanent Injuries a character receives, as each one (regardless if its been healed or not) increases the DC by 5. Some injuries are more difficult to heal or require special procedures or parts. Each injury will list the average TU required to mend.

When a character receives a Permanent Injury roll a d4 for the respective limb hit.

Head

  1. Brain Damage: Character's mind is addled from the brutal head injury. When trying to recall details or rolling Knowledge Skills, flip a coin. If Heads the character remembers things correctly, if Tails some details are wrong. If this injury is gained again the character falls into a coma and can not be woken until one of the Brain Damage injuries are healed Requires 40 TU in Magical Or Alchemy parts to mend.
  2. Lost Ear: One of the Characters ears are sheered off causing hearing damage and leaving a nasty scar. when the character makes a perception check based on hearing, flip a coin, if Heads there is no penalty, if tails they take a -10 on the check. If actively Perceiving, there is no coin flip. They may also take penalties to social checks from the disfigurement. If this injury gained again the character is now Deaf. Requires 30 TU in Magical or Alchemy parts to mend, or a prosthetic worth 30 TU
  3. Lost Eye: The character loses an eye. This makes them look far more badass but hurts depth perception. When making Perception checks based on sight, flip a coin, if heads they take no penalty, if Tails they take a -10 on the check. If actively Perceiving, there is no coin flip. They may also gain bonus on social checks with pirates or other cool people, while others may look down on them as a disfigured cyclops. If this injury is gained again the character is Blind. Requires 40 TU in Magical or Alchemy to mend, or a prosthetic worth 40 TU
  4. Mangled Face: The characters face is horribly mangled. While their senses are mostly unaffected, its painful and hard to look at. Any social tests may take a penalty up to -10 based on the targets bias. The scars are also very painful and result in the character being uncomfortable often. Flip a coin at the start of each day, if Heads the pain is manageable, if Tails, the character is Winded until the next day. If this injury is gained again the character dies. A heal Check DC 20 can mitigate the pain, but takes 15 minutes of work. Requires 40 TU in Magical or Alchemy parts to mend.

Body

  1. Destroyed Lung: One of the Character's lungs are destroyed. Whenever the character would roll against Fatigue or Exhaustion of any kind they take a -4 on the check. Gaining this injury again results in the character dying from lack of air until it is resolved. Requires 40 TU in Magical or Alchemy parts to mend, or a prosthetic worth 40 TU
  2. Massive Organ Damage: The character's internal organs are a scrambled mess. This causes constant pain and the Character is Winded at all times unless aHealcheck DC 20 is made each day to mitigate the pain. This check requires 30 minutes of effort. Gaining this condition again results in the character taking 1d4 constitution damage every day until one of the injuries are healed. Requires 40 TU in Magical or Alchemy parts to mend.
  3. Liver Damage: The character's liver is functioning at a diminished level. Any Fortitude saves against poison or poison effects are made at a -6. Gaining this injury again doubles the penalty taken and results in the character taking 1d6 constitution damage each day until one of the injuries are healed. Requires 40 TU in Magical or Alchemy parts to mend, or a prosthetic worth 40 TU.
  4. Twisted Spine: The characters back is badly injured. Any time the character would roll a Strength check, if they are not Winded, flip a coin, if heads they may roll normally, if tails they instantly fail the check and are Winded until they are able to rest for at least 15 minutes. If they attempt a Strength check while Winded they take 1d4 Strength damage each check. Gaining this injury again cuts the character's carrying capacity in half and they automatically fail the coin flip. Requires 50 TU in Magical or Alchemy parts to mend, or a prosthetic worth 50 TU.

Arm

  1. Missing Fingers: The character is missing several fingers on one hand. Whenever the character would roll a Strength or Dexterity based skill check with that hand flip a coin, if Heads they preform it normally, if Tails there is some minor mishap related to the check due to their missing digits. Gaining this injury again results in the hand being severed. Requires 30 TU in Magical or Alchemy parts, or a prosthetic worth 30 TU
  2. Flayed Skin: Large sections of the character's arm is missing skin or mainly scar tissue. Flip a coin at the start of each day, if Heads, the pain is manageable, if Tails the arm is in horrible pain and any attacks or checks made with it are at a -2 unless aHealcheck of DC 20 is made, this takes 15 minutes. If this injury is gained again the arm is severed. Requires 40 TU in magical or Alchemy parts, or a prosthetic worth 40 TU
  3. Damaged Joints: The characters joints function poorly from damage. Any time the character is grappled or grappling flip a coin, if Heads they perform as normal, if tails they take a -10 on the grapple check. In addition if the grappler is aware of the injury they get a +5 on any grapple checks made against the character. Gaining this injury again results in the arm being severed. Requires 40 TU in Magical or Alchemy parts, or a prosthetic worth 40 TU
  4. Nerve Damage: The character's arm has extensive nerve damage that diminishes feeling in the limb. Any perception checks made using touch with the hand takes a -10. The GM keeps track of the characters wounds on the limb and hides this from the player unless they spend a half action and make aHealCheck DC 20 to know its current wounds. Gaining this injury results in the arm being severed. Requires 40 TU in Magical or Alchemy parts, or a prosthetic worth 40 TU

Leg

  1. Limp: Damage has caused the character to walk with a limp, slowing them down greatly. The characters move speed is reduced by 5ft. Gaining this injury again results in the leg being severed. Requires 40 TU in Magical or Alchemy parts, or a prosthetic worth 40 TU
  2. Weakened Bones: The bones in the leg are less resistant then before. Anytime the limb takes Bludgeoning or fall damage, they take twice as much. Gaining this injury again results in the leg being severed. Requires 40 TU in Magical or Alchemy parts, or a prosthetic worth 40 TU
  3. Deep Scars: Painful gouges often result in diminished ability when running. Whenever the character would make a Run or Charge action flip a coin, if Heads they perform the action as usual. If tails they are Winded until the end of the day or until aHealcheck DC 15 is made taking ten minutes. If they Charge or Run while Winded flip a coin, if heads the perform as usual, if Tails the winded condition becomes Staggered and require the same heal check as before. Gaining this injury again results in the leg being severed. Requires 40 TU in Magical or Alchemy parts, or a prosthetic worth 40 TU
  4. Bad Foot: The injury has badly maimed the character's foot. When moving through any kind of rough terrain flip a coin if Heads the character is fine while moving through the rough terrain, if Tails the characters bad foot forces them to stop their movement for the turn wasting the action. To avoid this a character may hop on a non injured leg at a rate of 5ft per Half Action. Gaining this injury again results in the leg being severed. Requires 40 TU in Magical or Alchemy parts, or a prosthetic worth 40 TU

Death & Dying

Gaining the Dead condition can spell the end for a character, however depending on the setting it may not truly be the end. There are three ways to remove the Dead condition

  • Path of the Healer
  • Burning a hero point
  • Powerful Magic/Divine intervention

The following are optional rules to be used in settings where death is not the end

Heroic Rules

With these rules the Death condition is removed and replaced with “Down and Out”. Meaning the character now needs extensive recovery time to heal the injuries but is not dead. Treat this just as recovering from negative wounds in healing, however there is no cap on how much negative wounds the character can have. The only time a PC would die is if the GM and Player both agree it is very fitting and cinematic.

One Life

Death is absolutely final, no amount of healing or magic can restore a person. This rule set also removes the ability to burn a hero point to avoid death.

Death in a Setting

A GM should consider how death is viewed in their setting. Is it something that is a minor inconvenience, or something utterly permanent? The base rules of Pathrunner only allow resurrection under strict conditions, normally directly after death. Reviving a long dead person can lead to large scale narrative concerns.

This does not mean that this magic doesn't exist in a setting, but it should be used carefully.Resurrection magic can create interesting stories, but for the mechanics of Pathrunner, it has been largely omitted.

Dying

A character gains this condition when their body or head wounds are below 0. The character falls Prone and can take no actions and are unconscious. Each round they must make a Fortitude save DC 10 in order to remove this condition, they take a penalty to this check equal to the amount of negative wounds they have on the Head or Body. After rolling the save, if the Dying condition is still present the character loses 1 more wound. If a character has more then their Constitution score in negative wounds, they gain the Dead condition.

Dead

This character has died, they no longer can be healed or take actions. They are capable of taking further damage (limited by limb destruction rules located at Health). A character with this condition is now considered an object for the purpose of talents and spells.